Hawaiian Traditions | Page 95 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

September 21, 2015 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Kapihe’s Prophecy

“When Kamehameha I was ruler over only Hawaii Island, and not all of the islands were his, and while the eating kapu was still enforced, and while he was living in Kohala, Kona, Hawaii, it was there that a certain man lived named Kapihe (also called Kamaloihi) and his god was called Kaonohiokala.” (Hoku o ka Pakipika, March 20, 1862)

“This man named Kapihe went before Kamehameha I and before the alii of Kona, and he said …”

E hui ana na aina
E iho mai ana ko ka lani
E pii aku ana ko lalo nei
E iho mai ana ke Akua ilalo nei
E kamailio kamailio pu ana me kanaka
E pii mai ana o wekea dek iluna
E ohi aku ana o Milu ilalo
E noho pu ana ke Akua me kanaka

The lands shall be united
What is heaven’s shall descend
What is earth’s shall ascend
God shall descend
And converse with mankind
Wakea shall ascend up above
Milu shall descend below
God shall live with mankind
(Kapihe; Velasco)

Spoken about three years before Christian missionaries arrived in the Hawaiian Islands with bibles and scriptures, the prophecy of Kapihe seemed to foretell the abolishment of the kapu and transformation to Christianity and westernization.

“The chiefs and commoners were astounded at these shocking words spoken by Kapihe, and they called him crazy. This perhaps is the truth, for some of his predictions came true and others were denied.” (Hoku o ka Pakipika, March 20, 1862)

“(I)t might be thought that Kapihe’s was a riddle and the land would not literally join together … Perhaps his words were not his alone, but from God.”

“Maybe … it was of Kapihe, the prophet of Hawaii; God gave the words for his mouth to speak, and Kapihe spoke what God of the heavens gave to us. And the nations of man joined as one, from America, and the other inhabited lands, they are here together with us. And the souls of the righteous are the same up above.”

“The alii of whom Kapihe predicted was Kamehameha I, who was victorious over Maui and Oahu, and Kauai was left, and his grandchildren now rule over his Kingdom. This is the nature of Kapihe’s words. (Kauakoiawe, Hoku o ka Pakipika, March 20, 1862)

The last High Priest under the old religion, Hewahewa, served as kahuna for both Kamehameha I and Liholiho (Kamehameha II.)

“He could not have known that, although the missionaries set sail on October 23rd (1819,) one day before the Makahiki began, they would take six months to arrive. Therefore, it was quite prophetic that, when he saw the missionaries’ ship off in the distance, he announced ‘The new God is coming.’ One must wonder how Hewahewa knew that this was the ship.” (Kikawa)

There were seven American couples sent by the ABCFM to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity in the Pioneer Company, led by Hiram Bingham.) The Prudential Committee of the ABCFM in giving instructions to the pioneers of 1819 said: “Your mission is a mission of mercy, and your work is to be wholly a labor of love”

“Your views are not to be limited to a low, narrow scale, but you are to open your hearts wide, and set your marks high. You are to aim at nothing short of covering these islands with fruitful fields, and pleasant dwellings and schools and churches, and of Christian civilization.” (The Friend)

By the time the Pioneer Company arrived, Kamehameha I had died and the centuries-old kapu system had been abolished; through the actions of King Kamehameha II (Liholiho,) with encouragement by former Queens Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani (Liholiho’s mother,) the Hawaiian people had already dismantled their heiau and had rejected their religious beliefs.

In 1820, the American missionaries arrived at Kailua (Kona) Hawai`i. Hewahewa expressed “much satisfaction in meeting with a brother priest from America”, the Reverend Hiram Bingham.

Hewahewa, the highest religious expert of the kingdom, participated in the first discussions between missionaries and chiefs. He welcomed the new god as a hopeful solution to the current problems of Hawaiians and understood the Christian message largely in traditional terms. He envisioned a Hawaiian Christian community led by the land’s own religious experts. (Charlot)

“Hewahewa … expressed most unexpectedly his gratification on meeting us … On our being introduced to (Liholiho,) he, with a smile, gave us the customary ‘Aloha.’”

“As ambassadors of the King of Heaven … we made to him the offer of the Gospel of eternal life, and proposed to teach him and his people the written, life-giving Word of the God of Heaven. … and asked permission to settle in his country, for the purpose of teaching the nation Christianity, literature and the arts.” (Bingham)

Within a few years, “a number of serious men putting off their heathen habits, and willing to be known as seekers of the great salvation, and as, in some sense, pledged to one another to abstain from immoralities and to follow the teachings of the Word of God, united in an association for prayer and improvement similar to that formed by the females a month earlier.” (Bingham)

Hewahewa became a devout Christian and composed a prayer which antedated the use of The Lord’s Prayer in Hawaiʻi. In part, it spoke of ‘Jehovah, a visitor from the skies’ thus putting a name to the god whom Kapihe, before him, had predicted as “god will be in the heavens”. (HMHOF)

The image shows Hiram Bingham preaching to Queen Kaʻahumanu and or Hawaiians at Waimea, Oʻahu, home of Hewahewa.

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Hiram Bingham I preaching with Queen Kaahumanu at Waimea, in 1826, from his book A Residence of Twenty-one Years in the Sandwich Islands.

August 22, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Makau

Ua Akamai kekahi poe kanaka Hawaii ia ka lawaia, no ia mea, ua kapa ia lakou, he poe lawaia. O ka makau kekahi mea e lawaia ai. O ka upena kekahi, a o ka hinai kekahi.

Some of the people of Hawaii were very knowledgeable about fishing, and they were called fisher-people. The hook was one thing used in fishing. The net was another, and the basket trap, another. (WE Kealakaʻi, Ka Hae Hawaii, 1861; Maly)

“This is how fishing was done with a hook. The cordage was first twined by the fisherman. The kind of cordage was a three-ply twine, a cord of three strands of olona. The line might be 720 feet long, or perhaps 960 feet long. Then the hooks were made and the fisherman was supplied with these things…” (WE Kealakaʻi, Ka Hae Hawaii, 1861; Maly)

Makau (fishhooks) of Hawai‘i took on many different shapes, each one specialized to catching different types of fish with a variety of fishing techniques.

Simple hooks were made from one piece of material, while composite hooks were made of more than one piece joined by lashing. (Bishop Museum)

“Their fishing-hooks are made of mother-of-pearl, bone, or wood, pointed and barbed with small bones, or tortoise-shell. They are of various sizes and forms”.

“(B)ut the most common are about two or three inches long, and made in the shape of a small fish, which serves as a bait, having a bunch of feathers tied to the head or tail. Those with which they fish for sharks, are of a very large size, being generally six or eight inches long.

“Considering the materials of which these hooks are made, their strength and neatness are really astonishing; and in fact we found them upon trial much superior to our own.” (Captain Cook’s Journal)

The use of human bone for fishhooks seems to have greatly increased in the late prehistoric period, and was relatively uncommon earlier in Hawaiian prehistory.” (Kirch)

The man who was skilled in the art of making fish-hooks (ka-makau) was regarded as fore-handed. (Malo)

The raw material was cut with a coral saw, and holes were drilled in the bone or shell blank with a shell-pointed pump drill. It was then shaped with coral files and finished with sea urchin spine files. (Young)

In helping to shape them, the hard wood of the pua and the rough pāhoehoe lava rock were used as rasps. (Malo)

The Hawaiian fisherman considered his fishhooks to be one of his most prized possessions, and they were carefully cleaned and stored in containers after use. (Young)

The names of the different kinds of hooks used in the ancient times would make a long list. The hoonoho was an arrangement of hooks made by lashing two bone hooks to one shank (they were sometimes placed facing each other and then again back to back.) (Malo)

Hook and line fishing was generally practiced in deep water, kawakawa and aku (bonito) and ula (lobster) are the usual bait; for lack of these any kind of fish is used with varying results.

For deep sea fishing the hook and line are used without rods, and fishermen sometimes use lines over a hundred fathoms (600-feet) in length. (Maly)

Paeaea is fishing with rod, hook and line. The bait most liked is shrimp. Earth worms are sometimes used and any obtainable fry or fish.

The fisherman takes a handful of shrimps, baits his hooks, and then, bruising the remainder and wrapping it up in cocoanut fiber, ties it with a pebble on the line and close to the hooks; the bruised matter spreads through the water when the line is dropped, and serves to attract fishes to the vicinity of the hooks. This bruised matter is called palu. (Maly)

Fishhook construction changed over time. “Hawaiian fishhooks exhibited sufficient temporal variation to render them a useful tool for seriation and relative dating, just as ceramics were used in other parts of the world.” (Kirch)

Catching fish with hook and fishing line was just one of many methods that were practiced in Hawaii. Bare hands, spears, slip nooses, nets, and traps were also used.

The fish supply remained constant, because the catching of a certain kind of fish was always restricted to a certain time of the year. Outside of this time it was declared kapu (prohibited.) (National Museum Australia)

“The fish eaten during the summer months of Kau were different as to kind from those eaten during the winter, Hooilo. During Kau the opelu was taken and used for food, during Hooilo the aku – bonito or albicore.” (Malo)

Fishing was the domain of specialists in Hawaiʻi. They were called poʻe lawaiʻa (fishermen), and were generally descended from families of fishermen. Certain religious ceremonies were associated with fishing. (National Museum Australia)

The reefs, lagoons and offshore waters around the Hawaiian Islands vary from place to place; fishing strategies that were successful in one place may not work in another – certain kinds of fishhooks and other gear were needed for particular situations. (Kirch)

The persistent use of shell fishhooks after contact (1778) was driven by cultural, political and economic factors that initially constrained access to – and limited desire for – iron hooks. Hawaiians manufactured shell fishhooks as late as 1850. (Bayman)

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Fishhook

Fishooks-BM

Fishooks-BM-Long

Fishhooks-BM

Composite fishhook of bone, fiber and wood-PeabodyMuseum

Fishhooks-(Young)

July 18, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kahuna

The prayers offered in the hula were, as a rule, uttered by kahuna, specially consecrated or appointed for that office. The consecration of a house or of a waʻa (canoe) was done with the aid of a kahuna; and the common people did resort to kahuna of different classes. (Malo)

According to Lorrin Andrews, author of the first Hawaiian dictionary published in 1865, ‘kahuna’ is a contraction of ‘kahu’ (to cook, especially in an earth oven) and ‘ana’ (a particle that adds ‘ing’ to a word). So the base meaning by this idea is ‘a cooking.’

This doesn’t make much sense until you recognize that ‘kahu’ also means ‘to tend an oven, or to take care of the cooking.’ Ancient Hawaiian thought was very symbolic or figurative and a word for one type of activity or experience could be applied to other symbolically related activities or experiences.

So ‘kahu,’ originally referring to taking care of an oven, became a general word for taking care of anything. Another possible origin for the word ‘kahuna,’ however, is that it is simply a combination of ‘kahu’ (to take care of) and ‘na’ (a particle that makes words into nouns). In that case, a basic translation of “kahuna” would be ‘a caretaker.’ (King)

Kahuna is a general name applied to such persons as have a trade, an art or who practice some profession; some qualifying term is generally added. (Lorrin Andrews, Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language, 1865)

‘Kahuna’ was a title, like MD or PhD, and additional descriptive words were used to designate the field of expertise. Just as the modern use of the word ‘doctor’ by itself is generally taken to mean a medical doctor, so the use of ‘kahuna’ by itself generally designated a priest or healer. (King)

Pukui lists various kahuna: kahuna aʻo – teaching preacher, minister, sorcerer; kahuna haʻi ōlelo – preacher; kahuna hoʻoula ʻai – agricultural expert; kahuna hui – priest for deification of kings; kahuna kālai – carving expert, sculptor; kahuna kālai waʻa – canoe builder; kahuna kiʻi – caretaker of images; kahuna lapaʻau – medical doctor; kahuna nui – high priest, councilor to a high chief; kahuna poʻo – high priest; kahuna pule – preacher, minister, as well as others.

Different kinds of kahuna in traditional Hawaiʻi are put into three broad categories, namely: (1) kahuna pule, the kahuna who officiated in the temples of the aliʻi; (2) ‘professional’ kahuna, a large category that includes ‘specialists in different ritualized activities … and medical priests;’ and (3) the kāula, or prophets. (Nimmo)

At the height of ancient Hawaiian civilization there were dozens of classes of kahuna. Each was trained in a specific aspect of ancient culture and they were considered to be among the wisest in society. They also had inherent spiritual gifts and special abilities to communicate with the ancestors. (Winter)

With respect to ritual worship, kahuna is used in Hawaiian to signify one who is an expert; this knowledge may range from approaching the highest gods on the most important ceremonial occasions to knowing the proper chant to ensure the success of fishing. The religious specialists who contacted the gods reflected the hierarchy of the gods as well as that of Hawaiian society. (Nimmo)

Many myths have grown up around kahuna. One is that kahuna were outlawed after the white man came to Hawaiʻi. Craft kahuna were never prohibited; however, during the decline of native Hawaiian culture many died out and did not pass on their wisdom to new students. Liholiho, in abolishing the kapu, effectively eliminated the need for ritual Kahuna.

Under the Monarchy the term ‘kahuna’ began to be used for foreigners who were recognized experts in their fields, especially for ministers and health professionals. In the 1845 laws doctors, surgeons and dentists were called kahuna. (Pukui)

The native Hawaiian concepts of disease were largely magical although quite perceptive in linking melancholy to physical ailments. Illness required the intercession of a kahuna and some of the herbal remedies used were of value.

King Kamehameha IV sought to restrict the practice of native Hawaiian medicine by kahunas. (nih-gov) His Queen (Queen Emma) in her early years held the kahuna and associated beliefs in contempt (not until her later years did she acknowledge some positive values in the native pharmacopoeia.) (Kanahele)

However, the King’s older brother (in about 1861 – he later became Kamehameha V,) “caused to be issued more than 300 printed licenses to as many native medicine-men, with schedules of prices for their services to the sick.” (The Friend, July 1888)

Secret societies formed, such as the Ahahui Lā‘au Lapa‘au of Wailuku (an association of Native healers known as kahuna) who challenged the efforts of King Kamehameha IV to restrict the practice of Native Hawaiian medicine by kahunas. It asserted the benefits of the traditional plants and medicinal practices in treating diseases such as smallpox. (nih-gov)

Later, Kalākaua, as King, formed the Hale Nauā (also known as Ualo Malie (Malo,)) a secret royal society who according to its constitution was “the revival of Ancient Sciences of Hawaii in combination with the promotion and advancement of Modern Sciences, Art, Literature, and Philanthropy.” (Daws)

In Territorial times, when Hawaiʻi became a tourist destination, visitors discovered that the best surfer on the beach was called ‘kahuna nui heʻe nalu,’ the ‘principal master surfer. He was called ‘kahuna nui’ for short, and this soon became the phrase ‘big kahuna.’ (King) (Artwork by Herb Kane.)

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June 7, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Chief’s Canoe

Throughout the years of late-prehistory, AD 1400s – 1700s, and through much of the 1800s, the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi. Canoes were used for interisland and inter-village coastal travel.

Most permanent villages initially were near the ocean and at sheltered beaches, which provided access to good fishing grounds, as well as facilitating convenient canoe travel.

As long distance voyaging declined, the need shifted from voyaging canoes to large canoes for chiefly visits and warfare within the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in changes in canoe design.

For these short coastal and inter-island trips, paddling replaced sailing as the dominant power mode. Never certain when hospitality might turn sour, chiefs prudently traveled with bodyguards. On a visit to another chiefdom, they might prepare his food to avoid poisoning.

Their numbers were a silent announcement of his status. At a signal, they could launch a raid, fight a skirmish, or conduct a guarded retreat to the canoe landing. (Kane)

The canoe was used by the chiefs as a means of ostentation and display. On a voyage the alii occupied the raised and sheltered platform in the waist of the canoe which was called the pola, while the paddle-men sat in the spaces fore and aft, their number showing the strength of the king’s following. (Malo)

And for a chief eager to make a quick getaway regardless of wind conditions, his bodyguards could also be put to work as paddlers. No longer need he wait for a favorable wind, or beat upwind to a destination on long tacks. Paddling provided great freedom of mobility, the ability to move canoes in any direction despite calms or adverse winds. (Kane)

Royal Centers were where the aliʻi resided; aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year. The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

The Hawaiian court was mobile within the districts or kingdom the aliʻi controlled. A paramount’s attendants might consist of as many as 700 to 1000-followers made of kahuna and political advisors (including geologists, architects, seers, messengers, executioner, etc;) servants which included craftsmen, guards, stewards; relatives and numerous hangers-on (friends, lovers, etc.)

There was no regular schedule for movement between Royal Centers. In part, periodic moves served to ensure that district chiefs did not remain isolated, or unsupervised long enough to gather support for a revolt.

In addition to personal economic support, the king also required tribute and taxes by which to maintain and display his political power.

Structures associated with the Royal Centers include heiau (religious structures) and sacred areas, house sites for the aliʻi and the entourage of family and kahuna (priests), and activity areas for burial, bathing, games, recreation, and crafts.

Religion and politics were closely interwoven in Hawaiian culture. The Royal Centers reflect this interrelationship with residential sites, heiau and sacred sites present within a defined royal compound.

Puʻuhonua (places of refuge) were often associated with these Royal Centers, reflecting the strong association between puʻuhonua and sites occupied by the high-ranking aliʻi.

A ruling chief moved his court as desired, travelling along the coasts by canoe with his attendants and setting up temporary establishments at certain sites for purposes of business or pleasure.

The canoes “have the bottom for the most part formed of a single piece or log of wood, hollowed out to the thickness of an inch, or an inch and a half, and brought to a point at each end.”

“The sides consist of three boards, each about an inch thick, and neatly fitted and lashed to the bottom part. The extremities, both at head and stern, are a little raised, and both are made sharp, somewhat like a wedge, but they flatten more abruptly, so that the two side-boards join each other side by side for more than a foot.”

“They are rowed by paddles, such as we had generally met with; and some of them have a light triangular sail, like those of the Friendly Islands, extended to a mast and boom. The ropes used for their boats, and the smaller cords for their fishing-tackle, are strong and well made.” (Captain Cook’s Journal)

“This village (at Kealakekua Bay) we found to be the residence of (Kamehameha;) from whence, before the ship was well secured, eleven large canoes put off from the shore with great order, and formed two equal sides of an obtuse triangle.”

“The largest canoe being in the angular point, was rowed by eighteen paddles on each side…. (The Chief’s) canoe was advanced a little forward in the procession, to the actions of which the other ten strictly attended, keeping the most exact and regular time with their paddles, and inclining to the right or left agreeably to the directions of the king…”

The Chief “conducted the whole business with a degree of adroitness and uniformity, that manifested a knowledge of such movements and maneuver far beyond what could reasonably have been expected. In this manner he paraded round the vessels, with a slow and solemn motion.” (Captain Vancouver)

Later, “Near sunset, our distinguished guests took leave and returned to the shore on their state vehicle-their double canoe, seated on a light narrow scaffolding which rested on the semi-elliptical timbers by which two large parallel canoes, each neatly carved from a tree, are yoked together, five or six feet apart.”

“Their large canoes are two to three feet in depth, and thirty to fifty in length. The thin sides are raised by the addition of a nicely fitted waist-board. Additional pieces of thin wood, ingeniously carved, are attached at the ends, covering a few feet as a deck turning up some fifteen inches at the extremity, and giving the appearance of greater finish, beauty and utility.”

“The favored passengers on a Hawaiian double canoe sit three or four feet above the surface of the water, while the rowers sit on thwarts in the canoe with their feet below the surface and their faces forward. The steersmen sit in the stern.”

“Their paddles have a round handle from three to four feet long, and a thin blade from twelve to eighteen inches long and eight to twelve wide, and are grasped by one hand at the extreme end, and by the other, near the blade, and are used by main strength.”

“The chiefs, on this occasion, were rowed off with spirit by nine or ten athletic men in each of the coupled canoes, making regular, rapid and effective strokes, all on one side for a while, then, changing at a signal in exact time, all on the other.”

“Each raising his head erect, and lifting one hand high to throw the paddle blade forward beside the canoe, the rowers, dipping their blades, and bowing simultaneously and earnestly, swept their paddles back with naked muscular arms, making the brine boil, and giving great speed to their novel and serviceable sea-craft.” (Hiram Bingham)

The image shows Kalaniʻōpuʻu, Chief of Hawaiʻi, bringing presents to Captain Cook (John Webber.)

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Kalaniopuu, King of Hawaii, bringing presents to Captain Cook-John_Webber-1779

May 24, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Waikiki

Waikiki was once a vast marshland whose boundaries encompassed more than 2,000-acres (as compared to its present 500-acres we call Waikiki, today.)

Originally, the ahupuaʻa of Waikiki included all the valleys “from the west side of Makiki valley away to the east side of Wailupe”.

The name Waikiki (which means “spouting waters”) was well adapted to the character of the swampy land of ancient Waikiki, where water from the upland valleys would gush forth from underground.

The early Hawaiian settlers gradually transformed the marsh into hundreds of taro fields, fish ponds and gardens. Waikiki was once one of the most productive agricultural areas in old Hawai‘i.

From ancient times, Waikiki has been a popular surfing spot. This is one of the reasons why the chiefs of old make their homes and headquarters in Waikiki for hundreds of years.

Waikiki, by the time of the arrival of Europeans in the Hawaiian Islands during the late eighteenth century, had long been a center of population Royal Center on O‘ahu. Kamehameha’s decision to reside there after taking control of O‘ahu by defeating the island’s chief, Kalanikūpule.

However, drainage problems started to develop in Waikiki from the late-nineteenth century because of urbanization, when roads were built and expanded in the area (thereby blocking runoff) and when a drainage system for land from Punchbowl to Makiki diverted surface water to Waikiki.

The dredging of the Ala Wai Canal (which became a demarcation of what we call Waikiki today) and the filling of the Waikiki wetlands spurred a building boom in the district. Hundreds of residential lots were created; then, many of the properties were consolidated into resort use.

Waikiki is now most often defined as the area bounded on the north and west by the Ala Wai canal from Kapahulu Avenue to the Ocean (including the Ala Wai Boat Harbor), on the east by Kapahulu Avenue and on the south by the ocean shoreline.

Today, tourism is the largest single source of private capital into Hawai‘i. Tourism is Hawaiʻi’s biggest generator of jobs among the major economic sectors. Tourism contributes over $1-billion of total state tax revenue.

Oʻahu has roughly 50 percent of the State’s visitor unit inventory, the vast majority of them in Waikiki (nearly 78,000-units statewide; nearly 32,000-units in Waikiki.)

It has a dense collection of independent hotels, condominiums, time-shares, restaurants and nightclubs, shopping complexes, etc and attracts and accommodates a range of types of visitor, from high-spending to the budget-conscious.

On any given day, there are as many as 127,000-people in Waikiki, making it a sizeable city by any account. This population includes 20,000-residents, 32,000-workers and 75,000-visitors.

While the city government provides the general public services and infrastructure for this city within a city, many businesses and residents also contribute to its betterment through various resort and visitor-related associations.

The visitor industry is more than hotels, visitor attractions and airlines. A successful tourism industry requires the collaboration of businesses, government and others, all working together toward common goals that contribute to the greater good.

Today, Waikiki is the primary visitor destination, and hotel and resort area not just for Oʻahu, but also for all of Hawaiʻi. It is a gathering place for residents and visitors from around the world.

Famous for its beaches, every room is just two or three blocks away from the beach and surf. But there’s more to Waikiki than just the beach. Nearby (walkable) attractions of Waikiki include the Honolulu Zoo and the Waikiki Aquarium, and for the adventuresome, Lēʻahi (Diamond Head) is a short walk that leads to a trail offering panoramic views of Waikiki.

In addition, Waikiki is within a half hour of a variety of Oʻahu attractions, including Pearl Harbor, ʻIolani Palace, the Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout and Hanauma Bay.

While Waikiki is considered “built-out,” recent revitalization activities, including multi-million dollars of expenditures for a new sidewalk promenade with landscaping and fountains and numerous other improvements, have added freshness and convenience to the Waikiki experience.

One of Waikiki’s new and signature attractions is the tradition of torch-lighting ceremonies that occurs most evenings throughout Waikiki.

Likewise, a recent sand replenishment project expanded the beach in the core of Waikiki. Other landscaping and sidewalk improvements added convenience and safety, while also enhancing a rejuvenated feel.

Long been cultivated in the minds of worldwide visitors as a destination of exotic allure and Aloha spirit, Waikiki is a unique mix of ancient tradition, history, beautiful land, breathtaking seascapes and a blend of strong cultures—the backdrop that has framed the world-renowned beach as one of the premier tourist destinations on the planet.

More of an experience than a destination, Waikiki provides residents and visitors with a unique experience found only on its shores, to take and keep with them wherever they are. Waikiki is poised to stand the test of time as one of the most iconic beach locations in the world.

We prepared a corridor management plan for the Waikiki – Kauhale O Hoʻokipa Scenic Byway for the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association. We were honored and proud when the Scenic Byway received a Historic Preservation Commendation from Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation.

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